


Pillow Talk

by sunshine_idiots (sunshine_heroes)



Series: Ash x Gou works [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Ash is more perceptive than he seems, Citron is supportive but also has feelings my poor boy, Fluff, Gay Awakenings (TM), Gou is smitten but he has no idea how deep he is, HC that Ash and Gou have cute bedtime conversations, Humor, I'm just going where the story takes me, Koharu knows, M/M, Possible Citron | Clemont/Gou, Possible Citron | Clemont/Satoshi | Ash Ketchum, Post-Episode 3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 17:53:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21732529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshine_heroes/pseuds/sunshine_idiots
Summary: Gou's world has been revolving around Ash since their fateful encounter, but what will it take for them to realize their feelings for each other?
Relationships: Satoshi | Ash Ketchum/Gou
Series: Ash x Gou works [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1597960
Comments: 59
Kudos: 270





	1. Chapter 1

Gou stared at the shadows on the ceiling, eyes wide open. He couldn’t sleep. The day had gone by in such a rush of adrenaline and emotion that his thoughts were a jumble. Fragmented memories flashing in front of his eyes. A thousand watt grin stretched wide over Ash’s face, and a hand reaching out for Gou to help him up. A boy in a blue jacket, standing fearlessly with his arms outstretched against two intense beams of light.

His whole world had been overturned in just two days. How the other boy was sleeping soundly in his bed was unknown to him, snoring away as if this was just another normal day for him.

Gou had heard of him before, of course, the Alola Champion and the reckless boy who had somehow stopped many evil schemes in his time. But nothing could have prepared him for what he was like in the flesh. Hot-headed and determined, but also selfless. He didn’t have any reservations about putting himself forward to help others, not like…well, not like Gou. He liked Pokemon, no, loved Pokemon. And he had said, without any reservation and with shining eyes that _of course_ Gou was his friend.

Something fluttered in his chest at the thought. He didn’t want to admit it to himself, because getting too attached meant you got hurt, but…Ash was perfect.

Woah, he must be more tired than he thought. These kinds of thoughts were _not_ like him, he thought about Pokemon and science and other appropriate things, he wasn’t some lovestruck girl fantasizing about their crush.

That’s it, he was going to sleep. He turned over, and his foot banged against the wall. He yelped (like a girl), and cradled his foot.

Below him, Ash groaned and there was the sound of rustling sheets. “Mmm…Gou?”

“Y-yes?” He could feel the heat rushing to his cheeks, even though Ash wasn’t looking at him or awake. It felt like he’d been discovered doing something awful, but obviously Ash couldn’t know he’d been thinking about him. _Get it together Gou!_ He couldn’t act weird, or he’d be abandoned again…act natural.

“Still awake?” Ash’s voice mumbled sleepily. Gou suddenly wanted to see what his sleepy face looked like, and an image of Ash rubbing his eyes flashed in front of his eyes.

“Yeah!” His voice came out embarrassingly raspy. He had tried to whisper so he didn’t wake anyone up but it sounded so loud in the silence anyway. “Sorry to wake you! I was just too excited to sleep!”

Ash chuckled. “Don’t worry about it! And there’s plenty more to do tomorrow, our adventure’s only just starting!”

Ah, tomorrow. And the day after, and the day after…there was so much more to enjoy. Finally his journey was starting, but he was more excited than possible because of his unexpected companion.

“Yeah, there are so many Pokemon I want to see!” Gou said, hesitancy swept away by excitement now they were talking about Pokemon. “All the species I’ve only seen in books before, I want to see what they’re really like.”

“I know all the best spots,” Ash said proudly. “Butterfree viewing near Saffron, the Great Tauros Migration, might even spot a Dragonair in the Safari Lake…so many places I know you’ll love!”

Ash kept talking, and Gou listened intently to every word. It was incredible. Ash had been to so many places, and he was only the same age as him. He wanted to know more about him.

It felt intimate to talk like this. Laugh together. He’d never had a true friend like this, certainly not someone he’d sleep over with.

Gou smiled, hugging his pillow close to his chest as they talked.

Somehow, they ended up on the topic of Ash – Ash’s hometown, his adventures, and the people most important to him. It was a little sad to Gou, hearing how many people Ash seemed to have left behind, but he spoke of them so fondly he couldn’t feel sorry for them. They were lucky to have been so loved.

To think that Gou had felt so trapped in his own life just days ago, and now it felt like the whole world was at his fingertips with Ash by his side.

But he could never tell him that…well, not directly.

He didn’t remember falling asleep, only that his eyelids were drooping lower and lower, until the only thing he knew was the faint sound of Ash’s voice floating in the dark, comforting and lulling.

The next morning, it was as if nothing had happened. They raced down the stairs and competed for the last pork bun, they went out and had another fun adventure, and Ash was as casual about touching Gou as before (god, that hug was not expected but it sure felt nice). It was great.

Ash laughed at Gou’s stupid jokes (probably because he was equally as stupid), the ones Gou usually didn’t make because he had an image to uphold. They shared a milk tea on the train, from one container, and Gou tried not to feel self-conscious about it.

No matter how close something made them, Ash didn’t seem to care. While Gou felt like his face was lighting up like Rudolph’s nose on Christmas. He just wasn’t used to being so close to people. Ash’s obliviousness was great, in a way, because it meant Gou could sneak glances and secretly enjoy the moment without having to hide it. But it also meant that Ash didn’t think of him as special in any way, which made him feel disappointed. He was probably just one of many friends for Ash.

They started talking again that night. There were times in the past where he couldn’t get to sleep because he felt so alone. But Ash’s casual companionship felt good. The small things, like Ash asking him if he wanted hot chocolate, or asking him about his favourite foods and places like he really wanted to know.

Well, nice until he started asking too much into his personal life…

“What about you, Gou?” Ash asked, after recounting a long tale of being chased by a Mankey down a gorge.

“Oh, I’m pretty great,” Gou said. “The most amazing person you’ll ever meet, for sure.” Ash threw a pillow at him.

“I meant about your life!”

“Oh…hahaha.” He shrugged to the ceiling, even though Ash couldn’t see him. “Not much, compared to you. I’ve been waiting to turn 10 for a long time, so I can go find Mew. Of course, I’ve done lots of research and had fun learning about all the Pokemon around here.”

“Surely you’ve had some fun adventures with your friends! Tell me!”

“Ah,” he started hesitantly. “Yeah, totally! So many!” He didn’t say any more, letting the silence drag on purposefully, and expected Ash to read the situation and back off (as any normal person would).

“But surely you have friends!” he exclaimed instead.

“O-of course,” he said. _Diving in full throttle, of course he was..._

“Gou,” Ash said. He could hear the frown in his voice. He gulped. Maybe Ash had figured it out. What from him saying that Ash ‘was one of those people’ and him asking with such shyness to be Ash’s friend...

“Gou, you’re really popular, aren’t you?” he said in the cheeriest tone imaginable. “Don’t worry! I won’t be jealous!”

Oh my god. Gou felt like laughing and crying at the same time at his own stupidity. So, Ash wasn’t that perceptive.

“Why are you laughing?” Gou didn’t reply. “Hey, Gou! Let me in on the joke!” He stuck his head out from the bed to look at him. “Please!”

“Nothing, nothing,” he said in between bursts of laughter. “I just, think it’s great how you see the best in everyone.”

Ash looked mildly confused. “Thanks, I think!”

“Ash, you’re an idiot.”

“Huh?! You wanna fight!” Ash protested. “I thought we were saying nice things!”

Ash grabbed onto the wooden bar between the bunks and flipped himself up onto the top bunk with incredible athleticism. “Time to face your destiny!”

“Wha-”

Ash wrestled him down, and Gou had to blink and compose himself for a moment - seeing Ash’s face so close made his heart beat strangely fast – before grabbing onto Ash’s wrists and fighting back. “Not so fast!”

They tumbled, flipping over and over until at last Ash had him pinned down by the wrists, a wide grin on his face. “I win!”

Gou’s eyes grew wide, a blush creeping up his neck as he realized how close Ash’s face was. His body was full of adrenaline, heart thumping against his chest, and was it just him, or did Ash look like he was breathing fast as well? He could hear each huff as he exhaled and feel it skating across Gou’s cheeks, warm and gentle.

Ash’s eyes were so brown. He wanted to look away, because he felt like Ash was seeing right through into his deepest thoughts, but he felt hypnotised by his gaze.

“Ash…”

Crash. The door opened, and standing in the doorway was none other than Koharu, dressed in a pair of pink pyjamas and hands on her hips. That glare was always a bad sign.

“You’re being loud!”

“Oh,” Gou said stupidly. _Damn, damn, damn, not Koharu._ He’d never hear the end of this.

“Sorry,” Ash said, turning his head and smiling. Only he could act so calm in such a situation.

“It’s alright,” she said, sighing. “Just please keep it down. I know you’re…excited.”

Gou blinked, realizing suddenly what position they were in. He wriggled around, trying to hint at Ash to get off him, but he didn’t get the hint. In fact, it probably only made their position look even worse.

Koharu gave him a knowing smirk, then started to back out, thank god. Her hand paused on the door handle. “I don’t want to know what you were doing in here, but I’m glad you seem to be getting close.”

And then she was gone.

It was strange, hearing such a comment from Koharu. Perhaps she was a friend after all, in her own weird way. But what exactly was she suggesting? Gou could feel his blush deepening still and decided it was better he just forget completely about the whole encounter.

Ash sat up at last, folding his hands in his lap. “Sorry,” he said. “Looks like I got between you two, she seemed mad.”

“Not really,” Gou said. “I’ve seen way worse. She was more annoyed when I ate the jelly she put in the fridge.”

“Seriously?” Ash said. “You’ve got guts, man.”

Gou laughed. “Hey, when someone takes the last piece of pizza right from your hands, there’s no such thing as loyalty anymore.”

He still felt a bit jittery from before. Sneaking a look at Ash’s face, it looked like he was unaffected once again. Was that even normal? Was Gou just overreactive? Maybe this was something friends did all the time, like staring contests or something, and it wasn’t such a big deal. But it didn’t quite seem like a game…and it felt like a big deal to him.

Ugh. Whatever that feeling had been, it was amazing and Koharu had to ruin it by barging in.

Ash didn’t ask more about Gou, at least, not directly. He was perceptive though, and Gou sometimes felt like Ash could read him like a book. And he could tell he was curious, because Ash perked up every time Gou mentioned anything about himself.

So, Gou had a thought. It was a little bit selfish, but he really wanted to know something about Ash that no one else did. Something that meant he could feel special.

“I’ll tell you more about myself,” Gou said casually one night, as they tucked themselves into bed. Ash brightened up like a puppy offered a new treat. “But, one condition.”

Ash nodded. “Bring it!”

“I’ll tell you more…if you tell me a secret about yourself.” Gou was both cursing and congratulating himself for his guts, but he’d committed himself now. “Something you don’t let anyone else know.”

Ash was silent, which was concerning enough in itself. Was it too personal of a question to ask?

“It’s okay, forget-”

“Not exactly a secret,” Ash said. “But the only thing that comes to mind is that I like guys.”

Gou sat up in shock, arms flailing so hard the blankets fell off him. “W-what?” His ears were ringing. “Like…like like?”

Ash nodded solemnly. “It’s not a big deal, at least I don’t think it is. But it’s the only thing that I haven’t told anyone yet.” He pointed at himself and grinned. “Everything else, what you see if what you get.”

“How did you find out?” He knew he was just getting way personal with these questions, but he couldn’t help wanting to know. He didn’t know why, but he felt his insides were burning with a strange desire to know more. What a strange thing to like guys that way.

“A girl kissed me a while ago, and it made me realize, well, that lots of others probably liked me too.”

Gou laughed nervously. “Of course, you’re cool. You’d totally be attractive to the ladies.”

“Thanks Gou,” he said. “I feel bad now, because I never noticed. I just didn’t think of them like that.”

“Is there someone…who you think of like that?”

“Hmm…I don’t know!”

“Then how do you know?” Ash wasn’t making any sense to him.

“I can just feel it,” he said. “You know?”

Gou narrowed his eyes, trying to make sense of Ash’s strange understanding of the world. “Uh, no, not really.”

He noticed his blankets on the floor, probably knocked there by his earlier exclamation. “Hey, could you toss those up for me?”

Ash’s mouth split in the goofiest grin, and he dove down to grab the blankets. “Yessir!” He wrapped them around him like a cloak, and climbed up the bunkbed ladder with faux gracefulness. “Delivery for your highness, sir!”

Gou laughed. “Okay, now that’s just dumb.”

Ash pouted. “Wouldn’t look dumb if Pikachu was on my shoulder!” He stared wistfully at Pikachu, sleeping peacefully in the mini bed on the floor.

“I cannot believe you,” Gou said, shaking his head. _What a statement._ There were indeed, many things he couldn’t believe about Ash, who’d somehow leapt into his life and changed his worldview completely in 72 hours. As well as introducing this very interesting idea that boys could like boys…

Little did he know just how relevant that fact was going to become tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time! Citron appears…what will happen when Gou realizes what kinds of feelings he holds towards Ash?
> 
> (Random notes:  
> I call everyone except Ash by their Japanese name, I just can’t think of him as anyone but Ash after watching the dub my whole childhood.  
> I have a few different ideas for the endgame of this fic but we'll have to see, it's gone out of my control xD  
> Also idk how Ash is still 10 in the anime but I'm just gonna assume he's aged a few years, and everyone's old enough to have crushes and such)


	2. Chapter 2

Gou was floating, his body face down in the water, and it was dark. Water swirled around in waves, pushing his body back and forward, making him feel nauseous.

 _I’m drowning_. As soon as he realized it, a tight suffocation wrapped around his throat, and he had to struggle not to open his mouth to take a breath. His lungs were burning. He tried to reach his hand up to grasp hold of something, anything to help him get out.

 _I can’t move_. He was about to close his eyes, to give into the dizzying feeling consuming his consciousness when he saw something. A faint light in the distance travelling closer and closer…

He wriggled his fingers, and found himself reaching towards the light.

It smiled, strangely enough. He felt rather than saw it, the warmth like sitting by a fireplace being sung to sleep in the middle of the night. The light got closer, still blurry and glowing. Then it touched his hand, and a shockwave ran through Gou’s entire body.

Loud, joyous laughter resonating all around him, the feeling of wind in his hair and a the warmth of a handshake. The sensation of being underwater but without the panic of drowning, because of the light beside him. The laughter was joined by voices, all of them familiar, but he couldn’t remember who they belonged to.

Then Ash’s appeared in front of him, hands held behind his back and head tilted coyishly with a smile. The sight made Gou’s heart feel like it was about to burst. _“Gou, I like guys.”_

Gou felt his face light up, a ray of hope glimmering in his chest. Why did it make him feel that way? Why was there something about the way Ash looked that made Gou feel shy? He had so many questions, but all the answers were locked away.

He opened his mouth to say something -

Then Ash turned away, eyes hidden by shadow and mouth pressed together in a hard line.

_“But I’ll never like you.”_

He walked away, and Gou collapsed onto the ground in shock, unable to understand why he wanted to cry.

Gou woke with a start, eyes flying open and taking a gasp of air. The room was dark. His breathing was uneven and he was shaking. The mind felt like it was spinning out of control with panic. It took a moment before he realized he was in his bed. He bit his lip. It was just a dream, he told himself. Just a dream.

He blinked, and a stray tear ran down his cheek. He wiped his face clumsily with his sleeve, and tried not to make any strange noises that might wake Ash up. Boys didn’t cry. (That was one thing that his _friends_ had always been happy to comment on – that he was a crybaby). He had to get it together.

Listening to the steady snores of Ash below calmed him somehow. He didn’t know how long he lay there, but eventually he was feeling normal again.

It was a scary dream…usually he couldn’t remember dreams well, but this one was so clear, so real.

He was so tired, but he couldn’t sleep, what if he had another dream like that…

He couldn’t go to sleep…

“Pika Pika!” Something warm and soft was pawing at his face.

“Huh...?” Gou rubbed his eyes sleepily, trying to shield them from the too bright light. He didn’t remember falling asleep, but he must have. “Pikachu?”

The bed shook, and a great weight landed on the bed, making Gou’s whole body bounce up with the force of it. “Rise and shine!” His blankets were ripped violently off him and he yelped.

“Ash?! What’s wrong with you?”

“It’s sunrise!”

“I can see that,” Gou said, unimpressed. He groaned. “As if you aren’t the type who sleeps till noon in all the time… Can’t you let me be for one morning? I - ” He wasn’t going to admit he didn’t sleep well, or Ash would want to know why. “- I want to sleep in.”

Last night still felt like a bad dream. Well, it was. But in the sense that it felt distant and unreal. In the sunlight now, his fears seemed stupid.

“Pfft, you get to sleep in all the time, what are you doing while I’m still sleeping?” Ash was talking even faster than usual. Gou peeked out slowly from behind his hand.

He didn’t remember seeing Ash this worked up any other morning. Usually it was him struggling to keep his eyes open as Gou shoved his pyjamas in his face (‘Wear this, hurry up!’). Gou wasn’t a morning person, but Ash took not being a morning person to a whole new level. Today, he was positively glowing. Even Pikachu was looking at him with a confused expression.

“What’s got you so worked up today…” Gou grumbled. It wasn’t really a question, but Ash answered enthusiastically anyway.

“Just come on, I’ll show you!”

A warm hand grabbed onto Gou’s, and they practically tumbled down the ladder onto the floor. Gou groaned, and Ash rubbed his behind while wincing. Of course, Pikachu was the only one sitting comfortably on the bed, having jumped off to avoid collision.

“Ash!”

“Hehe…sorry.” Ash had the good will to look abashed for one second before grabbing Gou’s hand again and continuing full speed to the closet.

Gou silently resigned himself to his fate, there was no stopping Ash when he wanted something. “Okay, okay, I’ll get - wait, what are you doing?!”

“What does it look like?” Ash said, looking up from where his hands were comfortably holding the edge of Gou’s pyjama shirt. “I’m going to dress you! It’ll be faster!”

“N-no, that’s quite alright!” He shook his head and waved his hands at the same time, hoping it got across to some part of Ash’s brain. He tried extremely hard not to shiver at the places where Ash’s hands were touching his bare skin. He glimpsed Pikachu behind Ash, looking on with a very excited expression at this unfolding scene.

This was way too much for his brain to take, all he knew was he had to get away from this or he’d internally explode. Whatever had existed when they had wrestled the other night, and now. He didn’t like feeling so out of control, so uncomposed.

And he may have put the dream behind him consciously, but that didn’t stop the image of Ash turning his back on him from being still burned into his subconscious. A part of his brain still saw it like a warning. If he didn’t get too used to this, he wouldn’t be so sad if Ash left.

It was all too much to take at once…

“What’s wrong?” Ash said, frowning a little. His fingers were still holding on to Gou’s pyjama shirt, loosely dangling there.

“It’s…indecent!” It sounded like a lame excuse, even for him. “You know…” _Since you like boys_ , he was tempted to say. But he was struck by how awful that would have sounded. For Ash to be ostracized by someone who had just confided in him. He felt sick for thinking it, even as an excuse.

But his mind was blank. He couldn’t think of what else to say. He just stared stupidly forwards.

Ash had a strange expression on his face. He was so emotive usually it was easy to identify every expression on his face, but Gou hadn’t seen this one before.

“It’s okay,” Ash said. “I didn’t know you wouldn’t like it so much.”

Pikachu’s ears drooped, and in the silence Gou realized he’d done something awful.

“No, that’s not it!” he said, surprising even himself with the passion in his voice. He took a deep breath. He wouldn’t hurt his friend. “It’s okay, don’t look so worried. I don’t mind…this. I’m just used to looking after myself, you know?”

Ash brightened a little. “Oh really? Me too!”

“Is that so…” he said, thinking that Ash’s ideals of teamwork and friendship made his statement unlikely. He could imagine Ash being more one to help and be helped in return (if he even let them do that).

But still. Seeing Ash smile again felt like the clouds parting after a rainy day, revealing a shining rainbow. Gah, he was so stupid. If only he’d used that excuse that from the start, or the million other more acceptable excuses...but instead he’d make it seem like he was disgusted by the idea by saying it was indecent.

And that wasn’t quite true.

It wasn’t the worst idea in the world. Ash pulling Gou’s t-shirt over his head and fixing the longer hairs that stuck in the collar. Helping him wriggle his pants up. Smoothing Gou’s clothes down when he was done from top to bottom. Looking at Gou when he was done, nodding in approval at his own work, in a way that would definitely not be endearing to Gou at all.

“Um, earth to Gou?”

“Yes!” He smacked himself internally. Ash was still standing there, looking not so sure of himself. Behind him, Pikachu was staring at Gou…intently, eyes narrowed.

It was cute but also kind of concerning. _Make up with him, or else_ , or something like that _._

“I, um, got you a rice ball for breakfast,” Ash said. “I know you like the spicy filling.”

“Oh,” he said, awkwardly taking it from his hand. “Thanks!” He smiled, trying to convey his gratitude.

“That’s okay!” Ash said. The edge of his mouth curved cheekily. “I suppose you wouldn’t want me to feed it to you either.”

“Where do you even get these ideas?” Gou laughed.

“I’m telling you, it’s more efficient!” Ash said. “You may think you’re Mr. Grown Up, but when you see how quickly you can chew with me steering the rice ball...”

Gou shook his head fondly over his rice ball, glad that Ash’s enthusiasm was able to easily clear the awkward atmosphere. It had helped lift his own mood too. He quickly finished his meal, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

“Now you just have to brush your teeth! Try it my way today!” Pikachu pika’d in agreement, looking glad that Ash was in better spirits again, though still looking a little worried. It seemed they both agreed Ash couldn’t have completely gotten over it so suddenly.

“I’ll pass on that, thanks,” Gou said in his usual unamused tone, though he added a slight smile this time to reassure Ash he was joking.

“You’re so slow…”

Ash twiddled his thumbs while waiting for Gou to change, averting his eyes respectfully as he did – something completely out of character – it wasn’t unusual for them to come out of the shower in only underwear. In fact, only days ago they’d thrown their used underwear and socks at each other in an underwear war.

“Alright, I’m done.”

Ash lit up again, and jumped forward to grab his hand.

His hand hesitated above Gou’s for a second, and another pang of guilt hit him. He could feel Pikachu’s eyes on him.

_It’s okay Pikachu, I don’t need motivation to not want Ash to feel down._

Screw it, he decided. Ash feeling comfortable was more important than his internal struggles about how it felt being touched, and what would happen to him when Ash left. That was all stuff for future him to worry about. He grabbed Ash’s hand himself, meeting his eyes as he did so. Gou nodded.

_Come on, lead the way._

Ash beamed, and dragged him to the bathroom, where they all participated in a speed teeth-brushing contest, then straight outside to race along the pavement in worn sneakers, Pikachu making excited noises the entire way from where his head poked out of Ash’s backpack. The entire way Gou watched the colours of the sky change and brighten as the sun rose higher and higher, and he wondered if Ash was the sun, and if he was changing Gou like that too.

He didn’t let go of Ash’s hand once the whole way there.

“This is it!”

They were standing in front of Vermilion Gym, which looked the same as always, except for a few sad looking balloons hanging over the sides of the entrance.

“What is this…” Gou said.

“A conference!”

“A conference,” Gou deadpanned. “We rushed here for a conference.” He could barely feel his feet after running that far in the morning.

“Come on, trust me,” Ash said, as he led Gou through the double doors. He gestured to the arena. The battle platform had been put away, and a stage had been installed on the far end. Booths and tables had been set up all around the edges showing various colourful displays.

Gou’s eyes were drawn to a giant sign hung over the entranceway saying ‘ _Unite!’_ in bolded letters, with the subtitle: ‘ _Pokemon meets Science: The Future is Now.’_

Oh my Arceus…

“ _Ash_ ,” he said in disbelief and wonder.

“ _Gou_ ,” Ash said, imitating his voice.

“This isn’t just any conference,” Gou said. “This is Unite! It’s one of the oldest inter-regional conferences! How on earth did you get tickets!?”

“I got the phone call this morning!” Ash said cheerfully. “The original building in Celadon burned down, and Professor Sakuragi offered to become a last minute host. A few people couldn’t make it so they had some spare slots to fill. I thought you might want to come along as my plus one, so…here we are.” He gestured around him.

“No way!” Gou exclaimed. “Ash, have I ever told you you’re amazing?” He swung the hand still holding Ash’s happily and did a little dance of joy. “You…you have no idea how amazing this is, do you?”

“You could care to mention it more,” Ash said, rubbing his nose in a self-satisfied way. “Oh, hey, Koharu!”

Gou turned his head so fast his vision blurred. Sure enough, she was standing right behind them.

“You’re blocking the entrance,” she said, staring obviously at their linked hands.

Gou quickly let go, but Ash stopped him, tightening his grip and pulled Gou towards him. He stumbled a few steps and barely stopped himself crashing right into Ash’s chest.

“Sorry about that!” Ash said loudly. A few people laughed as they passed by, and Gou recognized a few of them as Pokemon Researchers who had published articles. He lowered his head and hoped none of them would remember him for this.

“Gou’s my plus one!” Ash said, after the crowd dispersed.

“I figured that much,” Koharu said.

Ash and Gou looked at each other with excitement. Gou piped up, “I can’t wait to see everything!”

“I’m sure that’s not the only thing you’re excited about,” she said.

They both looked at her in confusion, heads tilted.

“Ugh…you’re both so dumb.” She shook her head. Gou was about to protest when she gave Gou a significant look. “You’d better not disappoint me today.”

“Huh?” He could feel his face starting to heat up. He had a funny feeling she had him all figured out, when he hadn’t even fully figured himself out.

“Hey, what’s she talking about?” Ash asked.

“Who knows,” Gou said, trying to sound casual. “Girls, right?”

Ash laughed. “Right.”

Koharu frowned and shook her head. Gou gave her the most intimidating warning glare he could muster. She’d better remember that they had a code of honour to uphold as honorary siblings.

“Well, see you later then,” she said, waving over her shoulder as she walked away. Gou let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

They started rounding the exhibitions. There were all sorts of interesting innovations and inventions. Research into the physics of Pokemon balls and how this space could be harnessed as a potential waste disposal or storage facility. A theory about the source of Pokemon’s power. A panel discussing ethical use of Pokemon as energy sources.

Gou loved reading all the abstracts, but Ash seemed happy to spend about 10 seconds at each one before moving on, and he kept looking around like he was distracted. For someone so excited to come, he sure was being jumpy.

Gou gave him the look of disapproval when he practically raced past an exhibition on the future of robots in the care of Pokemon. “Hey, you’re not even looking at the exhibitions!”

“Never mind that,” Ash said. “Come on, come on!”

Gou frowned. He’d forgotten about the mystery of Ash being excited over a conference of all things.

Now that he thought about it…Ash didn’t seem like the type to enjoy reading and sitting in chairs and listening to lectures about science. Honestly, he was doubtful about Ash’s ability to stay still for anything longer than a Pokemon evolution at this point.

No sooner than he had the thought, Ash’s eyes locked onto a head in the crowd, and he almost knocked Gou over with how fast he stopped.

“Clemont!”

The boy in question stopped, and looked around in confusion. Gou’s first impression was that he sure looked like he belonged here. Dressed in a blue jumpsuit suited for an engineer and with wide, round glasses framing eyes that shone with intelligence.

He could tell Clemont probably wasn’t as hot-headed as Gou could be, and was probably too responsible to head off on some unknown adventure with a stranger like he was.

“Clemont! Over here!”

Pikachu jumped onto Ash’s head and joined Ash’s call with a loud “Pika!”

The other boy’s eyes finally found Ash, and he froze in shock for a full second. Then he practically jumped onto Ash, clinging onto his neck even in the middle of the crowded conference. “Ash!” They hugged tightly, Ash patted his head fondly. “I’m so glad you’re here!”

_So much for thinking he wasn’t the spontaneous type…_

“Me too,” Ash said. They parted, and the new boy brushed himself off self-consciously with a slight blush on his face, as if embarrassed for his behaviour.

“But…how?” His mouth was still held in a smile of surprise and joy, but more composed now.

“You know me, travelling here and there,” Ash said.

“Oh, who’s this?” Clemont stared at Gou with curiosity.

“Oh, yeah,” Ash scratched his head sheepily. “Gou, this is Clemont, the Lumiose City Gym Leader and inventor extraordinaire. He’s giving a talk later during the conference! We travelled together when I was in Kalos!”

Oh. So not only had Gou been wrong about him being spontaneous, but now he was an adventurer too. On top of that, he looked about his age, but he already had publications and his inventions helped run a whole city...this was one amazing kid.

“Nice to meet you,” he said.

“Clemont, this is Gou, my new travel partner and research fellow!” Ash said. “I forgot to mention we might meet a few friends here…hope you don’t mind Gou!”

“I’m sure we’ll get along fine,” Clemont said, smiling and adjusting his glasses. He had a certain charm about him, a slightly nervous but utterly endearing enthusiasm. And he was cute.

Really cute.

Ash was looking at Clemont with a fondness that made Gou’s heart ache.

 _This must be the reason Ash was so excited this morning_ , Gou realized with a pang _._ It was like all his worst fears were coming true.

Something about knowing that Ash talked about Clemont in the past tense confirmed that Ash left people, and Gou didn’t want that to happen. But he was also glad that Ash had left Clemont, because that meant he was travelling with him now. Wasn’t that selfish?

“He’s staying a few days for the conference,” Ash said. “I hope you don’t mind staying in Vermilion a few days longer before heading to Galar!”

“Of course not,” Gou said. It came so naturally to agree when Ash asked like that, even if he kind of didn’t want to see more of this guy and Ash interacting.

Pikachu looked between the three of them, little arms folded, with a pensive expression.

“Pika…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ended up way longer than I intended…sorry to everyone who wanted to see more Clemont action! Definitely next chapter. Hopefully I can wrap this fic up in that chapter too. But you never know, these idiots just keep doing whatever they want with me xD
> 
> I apologize for this more angsty chapter, my poor bb Gou, just a littttle more suffering (and jealousy) and these idiots will get there :o
> 
> Also damn I love Scorbunny but sadly I diverged from canon before his introduction so…sad me. Should’ve waited one more week :P
> 
> Next time, Clemont sleeps over? Gou and Clemont have a bonding moment? I have too many ideas :D


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone reading this hasn’t seen Pokemon XY, no worries, the only things you really need to know about Clemont is that he’s an adorkable science nerd who invents things (that sometimes blow up), and that he and Ash seriously admire each other like all the time.

“Anyway, it’s nice to meet you,” Clemont said, holding out his hand.

“Uh, likewise!” Gou said, because that sounded like a smart person thing to say and Clemont seemed like a smart person. They shook. Clemont had a warm handshake and his smile was calming, almost hypnotic. Gou’s gut wanted to like him, but his brain was still wary. “It’s an honour to meet a famous inventor and gym leader in person!”

“Oh no, you don’t need to treat me differently because of that!” Clemont said, looking embarrassed and shaking his head. “If you’re Ash’s friend, then you’re my friend too! With the conference, I was hoping I might get a few days beforehand to visit Ash but I couldn’t fit it in.” He smiled, and Gou had to admit he looked angelic. “But looks like fate was on our side!”

“Yeah, fate,” Gou said, scowling slightly. Ash was _his_ fate. He shook his head. He shouldn’t be so petty. He was going to encounter this sooner or later, one of Ash’s friends. He had to put these unpleasant feelings behind and be a good person. Ash would want them to get along.

“So, how did Ash end up being friends with a gym leader?” he asked, glad that his tone came out good-natured.

“We’re just friends who travelled together for a while,” he answered easily, while patting Pikachu’s head fondly. Pikachu preened up at him. “Speaking of, you mentioned you were travel partners? And you’re doing research together?” His brows quirked up at the last word, as if he couldn’t quite believe Ash could sit around and research anything. Gou wanted to laugh at that.

“Travelling the world to research Pokemon, that’s me,” Ash supplied, happily tossing an arm around Clemont’s neck and ruffling his hair. _Woah, they must be close._ Gou couldn’t help but feel envious of the easy contact they had…despite Ash occasionally surprising him with the same. “Sitting in a lab isn’t for me, but there’s plenty to do out there!”

“I see. That’s good,” Clemont said, nodding, and there it was, the smile. So sweet and genuine it threatened to make Gou’s heart melt. He couldn’t dislike this guy! Not when he looked at Ash like that! Then he went and clasped his hands together like a schoolgirl, blushing and eyes glowing as he asked Ash - “Do you want to take a look around together? I don’t have anything to do until the presentations start.”

That bastard, Gou knew exactly how he felt and he hated it. It was like watching himself flounder around. Did Ash just have this effect on everyone?

“Yeah, let’s go!” Ash said, grabbing Clemont’s hand and leading him through the crowd. Gou trailed behind, staying out of their way. They didn’t need him anymore, and he was sure they had a lot to catch up on.

“Gou, what are you doing? Come on,” Clemont said, delivering his angelic smile straight into Gou’s heart. His hand was held right in front of Gou.

He felt like tearing up. What an absolute bro.

“Yeah Gou!” Ash yelled, causing a few people to stare in their direction. Gou facepalmed. “Do I need to hold your hand everywhere!?”

“Oh my god Ash, you’re so embarrassing…” he complained, but let himself by dragged, Ash in one hand and Clemont in the other, towards some robotic exhibit.

He had thought at first that Clemont was way too easily flustered with Ash and way too close to him and probably a giant science nerd which Ash wouldn’t be interested in at all.

He was right on all of it, except the part where Ash wasn’t interested.

Ash _would not stop_ talking about how cool all of Clemont’s inventions were, and how he’d improved so much over the years, to the point where they only blew up 50 percent of the time. And it made Clemont blush, a lot.

Ash had trouble reading some of the more scientific explanations, so Clemont translated them into plain English for him. Even Pikachu was nodding his head, as if he could understand. Gou stood by with his arms crossing and tried to look like he wasn’t listening, because obviously he understood without the explanation. Obviously.

Clemont was really good at simplifying concepts though, Gou took a few mental notes of his metaphors.

“Are you guys thirsty? I’m parched,” Ash said, after a solid hour of exploring. “I’m gonna get us drinks! Gou, you want tea right? And Clemont, lemon juice?”

They both nodded. Ash saluted and raced off, leaving them both standing a slightly awkward distance apart. Gou didn’t like standing in silence, but he also wasn’t great at meeting new people.

“You’re pretty cool,” Gou said, hitting himself internally as soon as it left his mouth. Of all the conversation starters…

Clemont laughed. “That’s not something I get a lot! You’re pretty cool too!”

They hadn’t said a lot, but Gou got the feeling they understood each other somehow. Clemont was oddly easy to get along with, and he felt himself opening to him naturally.

“And Ash, right?” Gou said.

“Yeah, Ash,” Clemont said, sighing and shaking his head. “That guy. He would drive me crazy with how impulsive and self-sacrificing he is.”

“Right?” Gou said.

“He dove off the Prism Tower when he first arrived in Kalos, did you know that?”

“No way…that idiot,” Gou said. “But somehow I’m not surprised. He stood in front of two Hyper Beams to protect some Ivysaur and Bulbasaur, only a couple days after we met. Oh, and we rode together on a Lugia!”

“Wow! _The_ legendary Lugia?”

“Yeah!” Gou didn’t bother hiding how pleased he was. “I tracked the weather and energy patterns for months to get that opportunity.”

“Science always wins!”

Gou laughed. “Well, and whatever form of luck Ash has. He turned up in Vermillon at exactly the right moment.”

“He does that,” Clemont said. “It’s kind of nice though, because it makes you feel like if he’s there, whatever happens, it’ll work out.”

“Mm.” Gou had to admit he hadn’t thought of that, but there was a comforting quality to being around Ash. Even if he had nothing planned and didn’t know what he was doing, he always found a way. Not that Gou was about to give up thinking ahead, but at least he could count on Ash.

They waited in silence, but it didn’t feel stilted at all. Gou felt like they had a pretty similar energy and enjoyment for not talking constantly.

“He’s been gone quite a while…” Gou said after a while.

“Let’s search for him,” Clemont said.

“Probably got lost.”

“Probably found some Pokemon in need that he has to help this very moment.”

“Do you think he’s fighting Team Rocket?”

No, they found him in the middle of a crowd, Pikachu on his shoulder performing tricks while he danced. The onlookers were going wild, clapping and cheering. Ash’s hat had fallen off, sitting on the ground, and a substantial amount of coins had gathered inside.

“Ash,” Clemont hissed. “You can’t just start busking in the middle of a conference!”

“I didn’t ask for money, my feet just started feeling the music and next thing you know there’s a crowd,” Ash said as if it was the most natural thing in the world. He threw his hat full of coins in the air. “Free money everyone!”

“Oh my god…” Gou said, realizing Clemont had said the same thing simultaneously. Their eyes met, and they both burst out into laughter. The organizers were not going to be happy with this chaos.

Still…it was quite a catchy beat. Whoever organized the playlist was a catch. Gou found himself moving to the music, and next thing he knew he was there dancing like an idiot next to Ash. He had a way of removing his usual inhibitions, Gou would never dance in public like this without him.

He caught Clemont’s eye, who had taken to watching them warmly, looking rather like a parent despite them being the same age. “Five minutes,” he said.

Gou spotted Clemont’s foot tapping along. “Hey, you’re still young too,” he said. “Come on!”

“I’m a Gym Leader! Basically the face of a city!”

“I thought you told me to ignore that before, those details don’t matter,” Gou said, smirking. His attention to detail was useful at times like this. He dragged Clemont in. Strangely, he also saw Pikachu giving him a thumbs up from atop Ash’s head.

They danced for a while, then he saw a familiar head in the crowd. “Koharu?”

“What are you doing? This is crazy!”

“Oh come on!” he grabbed her and pulled her into the circle. “Just go along with it!”

She moved her feet, but complained anyway. “Ash has made you into a madman.”

“Maybe,” Gou admitted.

One song later, the music stopped abruptly midsong, and the cheering died down. Gou spotted Officer Jenny walked towards them, the crowd parting naturally to let her through, suddenly silent.

“I’m so sorry ma’am!” Clemont said, instantly dropping into a bow. “I should know better-”

“No, I’m glad you’re letting loose for once,” she said. “Everyone knows how hard you work in your lab and for the Gym, but…”

“But…”

“But this is a conference, and this isn’t appropriate behaviour,” she said. “I’ll let it slide this time, since I’m sure none of this is your fault. Come on everyone, move along!”

She turned to the main culprit. “Ash,” she said.

“Yes, Officer!”

“Still getting up to trouble?”

“You know it,” he said. He rubbed his head guiltily. “I’m very sorry!”

“You two look after him,” she said.

Clemont and Gou spoke simultaneously, “Yes!”

“I owe you a debt, so I’ll let this one slide,” she said to Ash. “But please just go enjoy the conference like a normal person. You’re not a kid anymore.”

Ash saluted. “Thank you Officer!”

Gou pocketed a few coins because the ones Ash was going to buy their drinks with had definitely flown off somewhere. Clemont ran off to go prepare for his presentation, about his plans for the future development of Lumiose.

Ash was starry eyed during the entire presentation, spouting phrases like “Science is so cool!” even when Gou wasn’t entirely sure he understood what was happening. It was pretty interesting. Clemont had a certain presence on stage, presenting his work proudly and confidently, unlike his usually soft spoken self. You could tell how important he believed it was and how much he cared for making a good future.

By the time they got back to the lab, it was dark outside. It’d been a long day for all of them. Gou wanted to collapse right into his warm sheets after a long, hot bath. He stopped at the entrance, preparing to say his farewells to Clemont.

As doubtful as he’d been at the start, he was starting to feel the budding of something like friendship between them.

“What are you doing, Gou?” Ash asked, standing in front of the automatic glass doors. “Let’s head back to our bunk!”

“Wait, Clemont’s staying with us?!”

“Yeah? Where else?”

“B-but…” _Our night time conversations…_ “Where will he sleep?”

“A futon is fine with me,” Clemont said, looking self-conscious. “Sorry, I should have made sure there were empty rooms here.”

“Rubbish,” Ash said. “A friend of mine is always welcome! And you’re certainly not sleeping on some futon that hasn’t been aired out in years!”

After they showered and brushed their teeth, Clemont stood awkwardly by the door.

“Stop standing around Clemont!” Ash said. “Choose a bunk, any bunk! How about up top?”

“Oh, I don’t really like top bunks,” Clemont said.

“Perfect!” Ash said. “You can sleep with me then!”

“Oh, no, but that’s-” Clemont blushed and trailed off.

“Huh?” Ash said. “I could sleep with Gou on the top bunk?”

Gou shook his head vigorously in panic before he could even process the opportunity before him. He couldn’t guarantee he could even get to sleep if Ash was pressed right up against him. “That’s alright! W-what if you pushed me off? Since you’re such an awful sleeper and all!”

Ash rubbed the back of his neck, clearly thinking very hard. “Well…I guess you could sleep with Gou then on the bottom bunk, and I’ll sleep on top.”

Clemont and Gou looked at each other, letting out a puff of air at the same time. “Yeah, that works.”

“Excellent!” Ash said. “Top bunk, top bunk, top bunk!”

Ash talked animatedly for a few minutes with them, doing silly things like swinging his head upside down to look at them (Pikachu copying him of course), but not before long his voice got quieter and quieter and was replaced by loud snoring.

“Exhausted himself at last,” Clemont commented. Gou chuckled. “Guess we should sleep.” Clemont climbed down to go turn off the lights, while Gou lay his head back on the pillow.

He hadn’t had time today to think about anything, it’d been full on all day. Usually his respite from the intensity of the day was his long night-time conversations with Ash, but Ash had gone and fallen asleep all by himself. He never even had a chance to apologize to him alone about what had happened this morning, when he offered to dress Gou.

Even remembering sent shivers tingling on Gou’s skin, over the areas Ash’s fingers had brushed.

And then there was Clemont, currently climbing back up the bunk, settling himself into the blankets (unfortunately, they hadn’t been able to find a spare). Given that Ash was gay, he must have had a realization at some point about it…and usually that realization came in the form of a person, from what Gou understood. Seeing the way Ash looked at Clemont, he couldn’t help but consider.

 _Weren’t they too much like a couple?_ It was concerning. No way…was Clemont his boyfriend? But Ash hadn’t mentioned that before…

Or maybe Ash acted like that with everyone he was close with. Maybe Gou was just getting caught up in his web of acceptance and easily offered friendship that he thought it was something special when it wasn’t…just like that first night where he couldn’t fall asleep from excitement, but Ash had no problems at all.

The fact that Ash had never told anyone else about being gay meant Clemont didn’t know though. Gou smiled a little. Well, that was one thing he had over anyone.

“Fwah!” Gou exclaimed, as something cold brushed his stomach. He realized it was Clemont’s hand. “You’re freezing!”

“Sorry,” Clemont said, and Gou could imagine the small, apologetic smile he was making.

“Gosh…” Gou said. “You should have said earlier! Ash and I both run hot, so…”

“It’s okay,” Clemont said. “I messed up by only bringing clothes for Saffron, the sea breeze is surprisingly cool here. I didn’t want to bother you guys to get a heater out just for me.”

“How would you know the conference would be moved anyway…” Gou muttered. For some reason, Clemont’s words were really pissing him off. He grabbed for Clemont’s hands, fumbling for a second before finding them. He squeezed them really hard.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“You’re being annoying,” Gou said. He turned over so he was facing the wall, taking the sheets with him. “Stop blaming yourself for everything, it’s not right. You know Ash would never think of caring for a friend as a burden. Hope that helped.”

Clemont laughed. “Well, it was only half a second, but your hand _was_ warm.” Then in a low voice, he whispered as if to himself, “You are kind of similar to Ash, as I thought.”

“Sorry, what was that?”

“Nothing much. It’s just Ash would always call me an idiot for not asking for help sooner,” Clemont said.

Hmm. Gou had missed out on talking to Ash tonight, but maybe this was an equally good opportunity to try find out a bit more on the nature of their relationship…

“So Ash liked you a lot?”

“Ah! I wouldn’t say a lot! More like, he’s nice to everyone!”

Gou squinted at him in the dark, turning his head. “But, do you ever think he treats you more special than anyone else?”

“No way,” Clemont said, sounding so crestfallen Gou regrets asking. He wonders why they had to part in the first place. He kind of wants to take Clemont’s hand again (so Clemont isn’t so cold, not for any other reason), but he has just enough social awareness to realize it wasn’t a normal thing to do.

It’s not like with Ash though, making his heart race a million times a second when they were touching. That moment he had held Clemont’s hand, it had made his insides feel warm and soft, even though objectively, Clemont’s hand was ice cold.

He’s not very good at comforting people aside from just trying to distract them or get them to talk more, so he tries that.

“What about earlier…why’d you not want to sleep with Ash?” Gou asked, in his best casual voice. He is quite curious about the answer.

Clemont frowned at him. “Why didn’t _you_ want to sleep with Ash?”

“Hey, I’m the one asking the questions!”

“Objection! I don’t remember setting out rules for this conversation!”

“You’re such a nerd!” Gou said. It wasn’t really a comeback, but he’d had it used on him so many times as if it was.

“I’m not ashamed,” Clemont said. Gou felt a stab of envy at that (he’d been getting that a lot lately). If only he could feel that kind of confidence about it. “Anyway, I heard from Ash you were geeking out earlier over even getting to attend the conference, so…”

“Ugh…I’ll get him later.”

“But you did ask me a question before,” Clemont said. “And even if I got sidetracked by curiosity.”

“Uh huh.”

“And I like Ash a lot,” he said. “That’s why I can’t be beside him.”

“That makes no sense,” Gou said, even though the words felt very relevant to his own situation. Also, why on earth was Clemont telling _him_ this?

“Ash is the kind of person who can’t just stay in one place, you get it?” He was talking with faraway look in his eyes. Definitely talking about more than just sharing a bed.

“He inspired me to leave and go on my journey, you know?” Clemont sighed wistfully, then shook his head, flustered. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to get so sentimental on you! I mean, we only met today! But well, the idiot himself had to go and fall asleep on his own…”

“No, I understand,” Gou said, nodding sagely. He could understand Clemont’s feelings, somehow. He’d never had someone to talk about Ash with like this, so he felt a connection with Clemont naturally, feeling that he was trustworthy. “Trust me, I get it. The same thing happened with me, or something like that.”

“Was it what you were saying earlier about saving the Ivysaur?”

“Something like that,” Gou said, remembering that memory making him feel warm. “Hahaha, it’s nothing much!”

“No, no, you should accept these feelings! Take them in to help you become a stronger person!”

That part was fine, it was the _other_ feelings he was having trouble with. “Have they helped you?”

“I became a much better gym leader and inventor after travelling with Ash,” he said. “Not that they haven’t also given me some troubles…but it’s different for you! Ash has told me all about your desire to find Mew and catch all the Pokemon! You’ll definitely be suitable for each other!”

“Y-you think so?” Gou said. Again, surely Clemont wasn’t talking about _that_ kind of suitable, but… “I’ll try my best!”

To Gou’s surprise, Clemont didn’t act surprised at his strange proclamation. He just smiled. “Good luck!” A loud yawn from Gou’s part prompts him to add, “I think we should get some sleep.”

Gou nodded in assent, and they turned away from each other again. What a day. Even if this wasn’t what he’d intended, it’d been fun.

But for some reason, it felt cold. He looked over his shoulder and saw Clemont’s back curled away from him. It looked lonely. Why had he put himself on the edge without even asking Gou? And why hadn’t Gou noticed and helped his guest?

He grabbed Clemont’s shoulders, and tried to roll him over.

“What?” Clemont said sleepily.

“Why are you sleeping there? You’re the guest! Sleep closer, idiot,” Gou said. “Or I know, you can sleep on the inside.”

Clemont blinked. “It’s okay, I’m used to it. My sister Bonnie always used to hog all the space when we were young.”

“No talkback,” Gou said commandingly, now tugging on his pyjama shirt. “Now, move!”

Clemont was obviously too tired for this. “Fineee, just this once…”

“Good night,” Gou said, once they’d settled in again.

“Good night, Gou,” Clemont said. “I’m glad I met you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I just write a whole chapter of Clemont and Gou interaction? Well. It'll become relevant later. I’m so tempted to make this a AshxGouxClemont ending y’all you don’t even know, though I’m not sure how that would work xD
> 
> I don’t even know myself how long this is gonna end up being in the end…the fate of this story has taken a life of its own and insisted on lengthening itself for justice, and I am being tugged along for the ride
> 
> Anyway, happy new year to all my readers! I hope you all had a great day :D Sorry for the wait between updates, life got busy real suddenly with the holidays and all, and I’m starting a new study placement next Monday! Hopefully it won’t be too busy! I’m definitely excited to write more!


End file.
